PARK AND CEMETERY 
AND LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 
Vol. XVII. Chicago, April, 1907 No. 2 
Billboard Taxation 
Strong indications of useful activity and some actual re- 
sults in the war against the billboard are recorded on an- 
other page. Chicago and Los Angeles. Cal., have passed 
mildly restrictive measures and several state legislatures are 
considering what seem to be broader and more effective meas- 
ures. The Los Angeles ordinance provides a small tax and 
requires a license for all billboards, and the bill before the 
Pennsylvania Legislature provides for local option, giving 
the local government the privilege of fixing the tax. There 
would seem to be no valid legal objection to taxation, licensing 
and censoring of billboards. Their character as public struc- 
tures demands some regulation, and the license tax is a gen- 
erally accepted regulator. 
The Forest Reservation Bill' 
The failure to pass the Appalachian and White. Moun- 
tain Forest Reserve bills in our late Congress, while in 
a sense discouraging, must not for a moment suggest 
a relaxation of public effort. It is quite often unfortunate 
in our Congress that' the Speaker of the House should 
hold so autocratic a position, and he sometimes reminds 
us of the township road commissioner, who was solid in 
his opinion that to return into the treasury as much of 
the funds placed in his hand for road improvement as 
possible at the end of his term was his first duty. Both 
the bills to the average common sense are meritorious, 
and what must be done is to keep at work harrying our 
representatives at Washington until they realize that the 
people mean what they say, and the bills will be passed 
without a doubt. Let every reader write to his Congress- 
man when the time is again ripe for action and demand 
his affirmative vote. 
Vg Vjg 
Arbor Day 
In the observance of Arbor Day it is now quite time 
that a more practical use of the day was made than the 
average school program for the occasion offers. It has 
been a good thing to work up an enthusiasm on the sub- 
ject by a suggestive and interesting program of recita- 
tions, songs and elementay essays, but in the minds of 
many thinking people who are deeply interested in trees 
as a leading feature of civic improvement and beauty, it 
is thought that too little attention has been paid to the 
practical work of planting trees and shrubs by the schools 
and those having opportunity and will to do so. It is 
many years since the institution of the Day, but no very 
great amount of practical w'ork has been done to attest 
the recognized value of its annual occurrence. It has 
been suggested that Improvement Leagues might take up 
the work in conjunction with the schools, if such arrange- 
ments could be amicably made. The advantages of such 
co-operation might be that the trees planted by the chil- 
dren as a part of the school program, and often w’here 
they are not really needed, would be placed more appro- 
priately, and where competent judgment would decide. 
More disinterested consideration ought to be given to the 
question of location, for it is certain that no trees should 
be planted withoait due regard both to the surroundings 
and the nature of the tree, and it is also a fact that 
comparatively few people have sufficient knowledge 
on the subject to pose as judges. Improvement leagues 
may be credited with having interci^urse with competent 
advisers on this question, and co-operation between such 
associations and the school authorities should result in a 
far more effective observance of Arbor Day. There are 
many spots of common interest in the neighborhood of 
our schoolhouses where trees may be appropriately plant- 
ed and cared for. 
Competition in Landscape Designs 
Competition in landscape designing has not been, and 
cannot in the nature of things, at all times, be the success 
that competition in other lines of professional work has 
been. Reasonable economy will always be an essential 
element to be considered, one of the consequences being 
that a thorough knowledge of the topography of the tract 
to be laid out is absolutely necessary. The (Oversight of 
this important matter, both on the part of the owners 
and designers, has frequently been tbe cause of large un- 
necessary expenditures in order to reduce the irregulari- 
ties of surface to conform to the spirit of the accepted 
design. Competition usually secures a wider range of 
ideas, but the preliminaries, such as exact topographical 
surveys and other particulars should be prepared in ad- 
vance so that the competition may be based on competent 
information; unless provision is made for personal inves- 
tigation by designers proposing to compete. The ques- 
tion is a large one, and serious mistakes have been made 
both in national and international competitions of impor- 
tance. But even in the case of parks and cemeteries, 
there have been cases of the unnecessary waste of money 
owing to lack of knowledge of topographical conditions, 
and, as it were, the misfit of the design to the conditions 
and neighborhood requirements. 
sjg Ne 
Practical Improvement Work 
The Madison Horticultural Society, Madison, Wis., has 
been making a very striking effort through its secretary. 
Air. F. T. Alische, superintendent of the city's i^arks, to 
induce a popular movement looking to the improvement 
of the streets and home gardens. In iiniting the general 
public to become members of the society, some few weeks 
since, the payment of one dollar dues entitled the sub- 
scriber to one of several collections of llowering plants, 
each collection including some bulbs, d'he plants, ten 
\'arietics of some ten each, 'were to be delivered in boxes 
in which they had been growing since transplanting from 
seed l)ed, and at planting time would be ready for re- 
moval to permanent locations. Later in the season the 
Aladison daily papers will contain authoritative articles 
showing what can be done with them. In the summer 
a public exhibition is to be held and prizes distributed, 
both for flowering plants and improvement of gardens 
and grounds. Especial effort is invited on the part of 
the working peop'e. A circular has been issued contain- 
ing full information and many suggestions. Altogether 
this appears to be one of the most attractive and practical 
schemes presented for the i)urpose of general improve- 
ment; it actually' invites a sympathetic interest, and re- 
sults will be earnestly awaited. It would appear that the 
park authorities of many cities might co-operate with im- 
provement associations in similar efforts. Aladison, Wis., 
is forging ahead as an example of a beautiful city. 
